Batman: The Buffy Chronicles (Complete)
by APhantasm
Summary: When Buffy fell through the portal in The Gift she awoke to find herself with selective amnesia and back in her six year old body and then she bumps into Bruce Wayne.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **When Buffy fell through the portal in The Gift she awoke to find herself with selective amnesia and back in her six year old body and then she bumps into Bruce Wayne.

**Pairings: **None

**Disclaimer: **Joss Whedon owns Buffy. DC Comics owns Batman.

**Author's Note: **This was a story I started and for the most part never got beyond a handful of scenes. It has more or less been abandoned by this point. So I decided since I probably would never make it into a full fledged story that I would go ahead and give you what I did.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Year One**

**_Oct. 10_****_th_****_ 1987_**

Buffy woke with no memory of who she was, where she was from or anything other than that she was 6 years old, that she was born in January, and her first name was Buffy. She didn't even remember her last name.

Bruce Wayne had just left the theater and was heading towards his car when Buffy bumped in to him. "Evening, Miss," he said. "Where are you going and where are your parents?"

Buffy looked up at the man and shook her head. "I'm lost, sir. I don't remember anything, can you help me?"

Bruce knelt down next to Buffy. "You remember nothing at all?" he asked concerned. How could a girl as young as the one in front of him have amnesia? What could have caused it?

Buffy shook her head. "Other than my first name is Buffy, my birthday is sometime in January, and I am 6 years old… I don't remember anything else, I'm scared."

Bruce sighed and scooped Buffy up. "How about I take you to a doctor I go too regularly and see what we can find out?"

Buffy nodded as Bruce took her to his car where Alfred Pennyworth was waiting beside it. "Master Bruce?" Alfred asked about noticing Buffy.

Bruce put Buffy in the car and turned to Alfred. "I just found her as I was coming out of the theater. She says she has no memory of anything but her name, month of birth and age. I was going to take her to Doctor Russell and see what he can find out about her memory loss. Then I will see what I can find out using Batman's resources to find her family."

Alfred nodded as Bruce got in to the car. He quickly shut the door and walked around the car to sit in the driver's seat. He then drove to the doctor's office.

Buffy looked at Bruce wondering who Batman was. Like most everything else the name was foreign to her. "Who is Batman?"

Bruce smiled. "He is a friend of mine."

Buffy nodded content for now with that explanation. Once they were at the Doctor's office. Bruce and Buffy were immediately shown in.

Dr. Russell shook Bruce's hand. "What can I do for you, Mr. Wayne?" he asked.

Bruce nodded towards Buffy. "This young lady bumped into me as I exited the theater. She says she has no memory; other than her first name, month of birth, and age. I was hoping you could examine her for a cause. I intend to locate her parents with my other resources."

Dr. Russell nodded in understanding. He was one of only a handful of people that knew Bruce Wayne was Batman. It was why he was Bruce's personal physician incase Bruce got hurt when in his Batman persona. "Of course, Mr. Wayne."

Dr. Russell spent the next few hours running tests before coming back to Bruce, "This is an interesting case. Never have I seen so total of amnesia. Usually most people have some memories left. From the tests it appears she suffered some kind of trauma, not very long ago either. Maybe a few days, a week tops."

Bruce nodded as he looked to Buffy. Was it her parents that had abused her? Was that the cause for the amnesia? "Could it have been from abuse?"

"I can't tell for sure. There is evidence of abuse. But there is also evidence of something else as well; it appears she had quite a fall," Dr. Russell said.

Bruce sighed. He knew from media stories that a _fall _could be caused by parents abusing their child. It was a common explanation for why their child ended up in the hospital so much.

"Whether her memory loss is a result of the fall or the abuse is unknown," Dr. Russell continued. "The only thing I know for certain is unless a miracle occurs she likely will not regain her memory."

Bruce sighed again. To go through life with no memory of who you are, of where you came from. It is not something he would wish on anyone. "Thank you, Dr. Russell."

Bruce escorted Buffy out the door. An hour later they stood in front of Wayne Manor as Alfred drove the car around to the garage. "Now Buffy you're going to be staying with me while I try to find your parents, okay?"

Buffy nodded. "Okay."

Bruce walked Buffy in to the manor where Alfred took Buffy from him and showed her to the room she would be staying in.

**_June 16_****_th_****_ 1988_**

Bruce frowned as he looked over at the computer screen in the Batcave. He had been searching for Buffy's parents for months had so far had no luck.

"Still no luck, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked as he walked up behind Bruce.

Bruce shakes his head. "No. And it puzzles me. Why no one has reported a 6, now 7, year old child missing. The only thing I can think of is her parents could be dead. Which will make it harder to find out who she is."

Alfred sighed "Master Bruce, it might be time to think of the next step."

"I have been thinking of that myself," Bruce said. "I've taken in wards in the past as you well know, just never one this young. But it's looking more and more likely she may have nowhere to go. And if I don't take her in, she will end up in foster care. While that is not a bad situation, I would prefer her to stay somewhere where she can be looked after properly, given her condition."

"Actually I was thinking of adoption, Master Bruce," Alfred said. "It's one thing to foster a child as you have done in the past. But Miss Buffy is an entirely different case, with no memory of her past she needs a family now more than ever. And since you and I are the only parental figures she knows."

Bruce sighed and nodded. He had thought about that also. What Buffy needed was her parents or in their absence family. But he had found nothing on any family either. Maybe Alfred was right, maybe it was time to think about raising a family of his own. "I know. I will ask her what her thoughts on that are tonight at dinner."

A few hours later at dinner as Bruce watched Buffy eat. "Buffy?" he said causing her to look up at him.

"Yes, Mr. Wayne?"

"I wanted to ask your opinion on something," Bruce said.

Buffy looked at Bruce as only a child could. "My opinion?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes. I've come to the decision I would like to adopt you, Buffy."

Buffy looked at Bruce for a long moment as she thought about what he was asking of her. Then her thoughts drifted towards her parents. She had seen enough tv shows in the last few months since living at Wayne Manor what adoption would mean, that Bruce would in essence become her father. "What about my mommy and daddy?"

Bruce sighed and shook his head. "I am sorry, Buffy. But I have been searching for them. There have been no police reports of you going missing. Which leads me to believe your parents may have gone to heaven."

Buffy looked down at the food on her plate. She knew the basic idea of what going to heaven meant. That someone was not coming back. Which meant that she would not see her parents again. She looked back at Bruce. If she could never see her parents again then she would like to have a new daddy. If that was the case she would like Bruce to be her new daddy. "Does that mean you would be my daddy?" she asked.

Bruce smiled and nodded. "Essentially yes that is what it would mean."

"I would like that, daddy," Buffy said as a smile graced her lips.

Bruce grinned. "Then tomorrow I will contact who I need to and get the ball rolling."

**_July 25_****_th_****_ 1988_**

Alfred came in the house with the mail and immediately saw Buffy seated on the stairs as if waiting for him, "Hello Miss Buffy. Wanting to see if it's come yet?"

Buffy nodded, ever since Bruce had asked her if she wanted to be adopted. Buffy had been waiting patiently for word of it being official.

Alfred looked through the mail and smiled. He opened the envelope and nodded. "Why don't you take this to Master Bruce." He handed her the envelope.

Buffy was off with a shot, running faster than he had seen her ever run before. As Alfred watched Buffy run from the room, he frowned. "Something is wrong. She shouldn't be able to run that fast."

"It came," Buffy said as she ran into Bruce's study.

Bruce looked up and held his hand out for the envelope which she gave him. He read over the letter that was in the envelope and then looked at Buffy and smiled. "It's official Buffy. How about we go out and celebrate tonight?"

"I'd like that, daddy," Buffy said as she wrapped her arms around Bruce.

As Bruce pushed the button on the intercom he noticed the big grin on his new daughter's face. "Alfred, can you come and get Buffy. Make sure she is dressed in something pretty. We're going out this evening. Call and reserve my normal booth at Giorgio's."

Alfred walked into the room a moment later. "Miss Buffy why don't you go on up to your room, I will be there in a second. I need to talk to Master Bruce," he said asBuffy nodded and left. He then turned to face Bruce. "Master Bruce. I witnessed something that should be impossible for a girl her age. She seems to be able to run quite fast, faster than a child her age should be able to run."

"Interesting," Bruce said. "I will call Dr. Russell tomorrow and see what he can learn."

**_July 30_****_th_****_ 1988_**

Bruce walked in to Dr. Russell's office. He had gotten a call from the doctor an hour ago wanting to talk to Bruce in person. "Well, Doctor?"

"This is as much a mystery as her amnesia is," Dr. Russell said. He had run tests on Buffy. Her strength and speed were remarkable as was her agility. He had even drawn blood work from her trying to find an explanation on why she had abilities only a few superheroes had. I can find no medical reason for her speed, and strength. I clocked her and she is able to run easily twenty miles an hour. I expect by the time she is eighteen I would bet she could easily double or even triple that. I don't know."

"From what you know of Superman's people, could she be one?" Bruce asked.

"I asked Superman to come here with the intent on asking that question in person," Dr. Russell said. "He insists that he and Supergirl were the only survivors of Krypton. He even provided a hair sample for DNA comparison. She is not Kryptonian. There is no medical reason for her to have the abilities she has. There is something else. When I took blood samples from her, her healing was magnificent. Seconds after I took the samples there was no mark on her skin to show that I had ever taken the samples to begin with."

"How is that possible?" asked Bruce. "When I first brought her too you. She had evidence of bruises from possible abuse and a fall."

"I don't know," Dr. Russell said. "It's almost like these abilities are a recent development. Either that or when I saw her last year they were lying dormant, and something recently activated them. Was there a change in her home life?"

"Yes," Bruce said. "I officially adopted her."

"I see," Dr. Russell said. "It's possible that could very well have been the trigger. We may never know for sure."

Bruce nodded. "Her mystery continues to deepen. Are these abilities dangerous to her?"

"I don't believe so," Dr. Russell said. "Despite her lack of memories she seems to know how to control them, like it's instinctual somehow. But I would recommend she receive training none the less, just in case she should hurt herself or others because she somehow lost control."

Bruce sighed and nodded. He hadn't wanted to train another Robin. Not since Jason Todd had been killed by the Joker. "Thank you, Dr. Russell. Much like my _other_ files I suggest these be shredded. I can't imagine what would happen if someone learned of what she was able to do."

"Of course," Dr. Russell said. "May I ask will she one day be helping Batman?"

Bruce sighed again. "I don't know. I've grown quite fond of her over the last year. I'm not sure I want to put her in that kind of situation. Of course if she does help him, it likely will be a few years away."

Dr. Russell nodded in understanding. "I understand. Then I hope never to see her at Batman's side. But if she does one day help him I will be ready."

"Thank you," Bruce said and then he turned and left. As he and Alfred drove home he looked at his butler, father figure and friend. "Alfred, I need you to set up a training regimen for Buffy."

"Will she be the next Robin?" Alfred asked, hoping the answer would be no. He understood Bruce's hesitance to train another Robin.

Bruce sighed. "More than likely, yes. Though I don't want her too, she has grown on me Alfred. You were right in suggesting I adopt her, she has become to me like she is my own daughter. Anyways for right now she needs to learn control over her abilities."

"Of course, Master Bruce."

* * *

**Chapter 2: Year Two**

**_Oct. 10_****_th_****_ 1988_**

_The Master stood in darkness as his eyes gleamed. "Welcome."_

_"__Thanks for having me," Buffy said as she looked around. "You really ought to talk to your contractor. I think you've got some water damage. "_

_The Master laughed. "Ah, good. The feeble banter portion of the fight. Darling, why don't we just cut to the –"he said as Buffy spun and shot an arrow from her crossbow. He caught it an inch from his heart. "Nice shot." _

_Buffy loaded another arrow into the crossbow, never taking her eyes off the Master. _

_"__You're not going to kill me with that thing," he said._

_Buffy laughed. "Don't be so sure."_

_The Master smiled evilly. "You still don't understand your part in all this, do you?" he asked. "You're not the hunter. You're the lamb." He stepped back, disappearing into the shadows. _

_"__For somebody all-powerful, you sure do like to hide," Buffy said as she looked around the cavern trying to find the Master again. _

_The Master's voice comes from the other side of the room. Buffy spins, standing in front of a pool of water. _

_The Master smirked. "I'm waiting for you. I want this moment to last."_

_She noted that his voice seemed to come from the other side of the cavern as she spun. From the sound of dripping she was sure she stood just in front of a pool of water. "I don't."_

_The Master grabbed Buffy from behind as he knocked the crossbow to the ground. "I understand," he said as he held her by her arms. He smirked as she made a futile effort to try and break free of his hold. "You tried. It was noble of you. You heard the prophecy that I was going to break free and you came to stop me. But prophecies are tricky creatures. They didn't tell you everything." He leaned closer so that he could whisper in her ear. "You're the one that frees me. If you hadn't come, I couldn't go. Think about that."_

_The Master buried his fangs in her neck as Buffy cried out. As he drained her blood he shook with the power that flooded into him. Her cry became a mewl, the expression of pain and horror freezing in her eyes. He reared his head back. "God, the power!"_

_Buffy sagged in his grasp as she lost consciousness. "By the way..." he said as he let her fall to her knees, and then face-down into the pool of water. "I like your dress."_

Buffy woke screaming as Alfred and Bruce came running into her room.

Bruce sat on the bed and pulled her into his arms. "It was just a bad dream," he said.

"I remember something that shouldn't be possible," Buffy said, knowing with certainty that her dream had been real. That she had remembered some of her life before she lost her memories. But she knew it shouldn't be possible. For how could someone get younger?

"What?" Bruce asked, confused.

"Me, I think I was sixteen years old in the dream," Buffy said. "I was fighting something. I drowned."

Bruce sighed as he reitereated. "It was only a bad dream, Buffy. Only a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

Buffy nodded as she Bruce tucked her under the blankets. He then turned and walked with Alfred out of the room, closing the door behind them.

"Was it a dream or as she thinks a memory?" Bruce asked. "If it was a memory how did she get younger?"

Alfred sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. But I know this no one on this planet could have done it. Maybe you should contact Superman and ask him about this. Since his people are from another planet, maybe there is something they have encountered that could explain this."

Bruce nodded in agreement. "Yes I think I should do just that."

In Buffy's room she was asleep again. If Bruce and Alfred had still been in their they would have heard her say one word. "_Dawn_."

**_Oct. 15_****_th_****_ 1988_**

Buffy peaked around the corner of the door into Bruce's study. She watched as Bruce hit three notes on the piano and a doorway opened into a secret passage. As the door started to slide closed she ran into the room and through the door seconds before it closed completely. She followed Bruce down into a cavern below Wayne Manor and there she watched as Bruce put on the Batsuit.

"Daddy?" Buffy said.

Bruce turned to face Buffy his eyes wide. He then removed the cowl and walked over to Buffy and knelt beside her. "Sweetie, what are you doing down here?"

"I followed you," Buffy said. "Are you playing dress up?"

Bruce sighed. He knew eventually Buffy would find out about his being Batman. He had hoped it would be later in life. "No, Buffy. I'm not playing dress up, I am Batman."

"You are?" Buffy asked as her eyes went wide with excitement.

"Yes," Bruce said. "But you can tell no one. If anyone found out you and I both could be hurt. Do you understand?"

Buffy slowly nodded, but truth be told she didn't understand why she couldn't tell her friends that her daddy was Batman. And Bruce was no idiot, he could tell that she didn't understand. He walked over to an intercom and pressed it. "Alfred come down the cave, Buffy followed me. I need your help in explaining to her why she can't tell her friends about me."

"I'll be right there," Alfred said.

Two hours later Batman looked out over Gotham from the top of Wayne Tower as he watched Superman land next to him. He had spent the better part of an hour with Alfred trying to explain to Buffy why she could not tell anyone why he was Batman. In the end he knew she would have more questions, but she had agreed not to tell anyone. He hoped she wouldn't.

"Batman, what can I do for you tonight?" Superman asked.

"A year ago a little girl came to me," Batman said without looking toward the other caped superhero. "She had no memories, other than her name, month of birth, and age. The other night she had a dream in which she was sixteen years old. She claimed it was a memory. This girl has advanced speed, and strength. I would say in time she may be near your levels. I wonder how she could be that strong and the fast. But what worries me is this dream, a dream of where she is sixteen years old. She just said she had been sixteen and she had drowned."

Superman nodded listening. "This is interesting. I assume this is the girl that Dr. Russell consulted me on to make sure she wasn't Kryptonian?"

"Yes," Batman said as he finally turned to face Superman.

"I see," Superman said. "And I am assuming by telling me about this dream you are wondering if it is possible to make a person younger?"

Batman nodded. "Yes."

"Not that I am aware of," Superman said. "But there are many things on this planet I have witnessed that I cannot explain. Such as the supernatural, I myself have encountered of what some would call demons and vampires."

"If it were anyone else, I would think they had gone crazy mentioning vampires and demons," Batman said. "But I know you well enough, Clark, to know that you're telling the truth. It makes me wonder if there is something with the supernatural that could erase her memories and for what purpose?"

"For whatever purpose, she needs to be prepared. I know after what happened to Jason that you don't want another Robin. But may I suggest you train her as such anyways. It will prepare her for whatever she is meant to do. From what you've told me tonight I am sure she has a destiny to fulfill." Superman said.

"I will think about it. Thank you, Clark," Batman said.

"No problem, Bruce," Superman said as he took off flying toward Metropolis.

A moment later Batman left as well.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Year Three**

**_January 20_****_th_****_, 1989_**

Quentin Travers, the head of the International Watcher's Council sat in his office going over reports of the current Slayer, India Cohen. He was extremely pleased at how well she was doing. He was so engrossed in his reports he didn't hear Laura Key Weathermill enter the room, Laura was a sorcereress that helped to find active Slayers when they went missing or just after a Slayer was killed.

Laura coughed drawing Travers attention to her. "Yes?" he said.

"We seem to have two Slayers," Laura said. "In a training exercise with Gwendolyn Wyndam-Pryce. She detected a second Slayer in the United States."

"She must have been wrong," Travers said. "There can't be more than one Slayer at a time. It's impossible."

"I double checked her findings," Laura said. "There is another Slayer in the United States."

"Find out who she is, and how she came to be a Slayer," Travers said.

**_January 31_****_st_****_, 1989_**

Travers looked up as Laura entered his office. "Yes?"

"We've found her, sir," Laura said. "But we have a few problems. The first is she is only eight years old."

"How is that possible?" Travers asked. "No Slayer has been called at so young an age before."

"We don't know," Laura said. "It should have been impossible. But our problems don't end there. Are you familiar with the Wayne family in Gotham City, Delaware?"

Travers nodded. He remembered when his father was a Watcher. Quentin Travers the first had been sent on special assignment to America to recruit Thomas Wayne as a Watcher. Of course Thomas had outright refused. "Yes, I am. My father was to recruit Thomas Wayne."

"Shortly after your father made contact both Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed, leaving son Bruce Wayne an orphan," Laura said. "A very rich orphan with the family butler as his legal guardian."

"And this has to do with the new Slayer, how?" Travers asked.

"Bruce Wayne adopted a girl just under two years ago. The girl he adopted is the Slayer," Laura said.

"Thank you, Laura," Travers said as Laura left. He sighed as he looked over at Roger Wyndam-Pryce; his advisor and one of his few friends. "Well?"

"It's a safe bet that since his father refused to become a Watcher that he very likely will refuse to allow us to take the girl," Roger said. "We may have to take her by force and stage her death."

"We may have an additional problem," Travers said.

Roger sighed and nodded having seen the news reports, even there in England, about Batman. "Yes, he might pose a problem."

**_May 14_****_th_****_, 1989_**

Buffy walked down the sidewalk of Gotham Academy toward the car where Alfred waited. Suddenly out of the blue she was snatched by three men and hustled into a van.

Alfred ran toward Buffy and the van, he managed to get the license plate as it drove off. He proceeded to walk into the school and its front office. "Afternoon. My name is Alfred Pennyworth. I need to use your phone to call the police. Miss Buffy Wayne has just been kidnapped."

The secretary quickly reached for the phone dialing 911. "Yes this is Gotham Academy. I have Alfred Pennyworth, the butler of Bruce Wayne, wishing to report the kidnapping of Miss Buffy Wayne. Yes, please hold." She preceded to hand the phone to Alfred who told the police everything he had witnessed and gave them the license plate number of the van.

Once Alfred was done with the call to the police he immediately called Bruce and filled him in also.

At Wayne Manor Bruce immediately headed to the Batcave where he put on his batsuit. He then put the license plate number of the van into the computer and found that it had been a rented in Metropolis. He cursed as he got into the Batmobile and drove out of the cave.

In the back of the van somewhere in Gotham, Buffy sat scared as she looked around. She hoped her dad would find her soon.

As Batman scoured the streets of Gotham he heard over the police channel that the police were following the van which was heading out of town. He hit the accelerator and joined the chase.

In the van the driver cursed when he noticed that Batman had joined the police. He looked at the rest of his team. "I knew when Travers sent us to Gotham to get the girl, it was a mistake."

The other two men couldn't agree more. The driver looked ahead and cursed. They were boxed in. Ahead were two more police cruisers. He debated plowing through the cars. But his orders had been to return the girl unharmed. Travers had wanted to run tests to find why a Slayer had been called not only so early in life but also during a time when there was another Slayer. And if he plowed through the chances are she would get hurt. He looked at the other men. The Watcher's Council had enough pull that all charges of kidnapping would disappear; besides they had diplomatic immunity the world over. So the driver pulled the van over.

Two hours later Buffy was safely back at Wayne Manor. She could hear Bruce and Alfred in the next room talking heatedly about her kidnapping and schooling. The men had been released within the hour and had quickly disappeared, having left town. Bruce had no leads on who they were or where they were from. Other than that the men had both powerful connections and diplomatic immunity.

"If you do not wish her to return to Gotham Academy," Alfred said. "And the public schools are out of the question. I think the only other opportunity is for Miss Buffy to be home schooled and a teacher hired for such an endeavor."

Bruce nodded as he thought about it. "Make the calls, find someone to teach her."

**_May 31_****_st_****_, 1989_**

Travers frowned. The idiots had failed to acquire the Wayne girl. And with Batman's interference he decided reluctantly not to try again. To do so now would draw attention to them. Attention that would not be ideal. "We will wait and try again in a few years. When she is older and hopefully this Batman is long gone from Gotham."

Roger nodded in agreement. "I agree."

Little did they know that the opportunity would never appear again?

* * *

**Chapter 4: Year Eight**

**_Oct 13_****_th_****_ 1993_**

Bruce shook his head as he watched 12 year old Buffy practice boxing as she hit the bag in front of her. "Buffy, you dropped your elbow," he said as he moved beside her and brought her arm up. "Always keep your elbow up. Always be on your guard."

"Dad, I've been wondering," Buffy said. "Have you been training me to be the next Robin to your Batman?" Alfred had explained to her what had happened to Jason and understood why Batman didn't currently have a Robin.

Bruce sighed. "Yes. But that isn't the only reason I've trained you for the last 5 years. You needed to learn control over your abilities. With your strength and speed you could hurt someone by accident. And Batman, and Robin, are not about punishing or hurting people. Punishment must always come from the courts. Batman uses what he knows to bring criminals to justice that police have a problem with."

"But that's not why you started being Batman though," Buffy said as she remembered the story Alfred had told her of how Bruce's parents had been killed. "It was about Grandpa and Grandma dying at the hands of the mugger wasn't it? When you first started you wanted revenge?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes in the beginning I wanted revenge. Eventually, though, I drew the line that I have since never crossed. What Batman does can never be about revenge, he is a symbol for Justice."

"I understand," Buffy said. "On another topic, I had another dream. I was 20 years old; I was on a tower of some kind. There was this girl with brown hair. I think I died for her."

Bruce sighed. "Buffy, it's all in the past now. Don't worry about it. You're alive now that's what matters."

Buffy wasn't so sure. Something was telling all her dream/memories were of a future time, not in the past. But she never told Bruce that, she didn't want him to think she was any crazier than she was now.

**_Jan. 19_****_th_****_ 1994_**

_It was morning and Joyce was clearing plates from the breakfast table while Buffy got ready to leave for school._

_"__Mall trip for your birthday on Saturday. Don't forget." Joyce said._

_Buffy smiled. "Miss out on a mom-sponsored shopping opportunity? Not likely."_

_"__So, does seventeen feel any different than sixteen?" Joyce asked._

_"__Funny you should ask," Buffy said with a laugh. "I actually woke up feeling more mature, responsible and level-headed."_

_Joyce looked at Buffy suspiciously. "Really? That's uncanny."_

_Buffy smiled. "And yet, true. I now possess the qualities one looks for in a licensed driver."_

_Joyce sighed. "Buffy."_

_Buffy sighed as she looked at a nearby calendar. "You said we could talk about it again when I was seventeen."_

_"__You've been seventeen for forty-eight minutes," Joyce said._

_"__And –" Buffy said._

_"__First of all - you promised you'd stay out of trouble in school." Joyce said._

_Buffy nodded. "I try. You know I do. But Principal Snyder has it in for me—"_

_"__I know. But ... You behind the wheel, it worries me," Joyce said._

_Buffy laughed. "It worries all moms. It's biological imperative. But I'm going to drive sooner or later, so we might as well deal sooner, right?"_

_Joyce turned to Buffy, a plate in her hand. "Do you really think you're ready, Buffy?" she asked as the plate slipped from her grasp and shattered on the floor. "Oh, damn it." She stooped to pick up the pieces as Buffy just stood there, obviously freaked out by something. She nodded toward the broom in the corner. "Grab the broom, would you Buffy?" _

Buffy suddenly woke and looked around the room as she got her bearings. Then she remembered the calendar in the dream. A calendar from the year 1998. "It is the future I'm seeing." She jumped out of bed and ran to Bruce's room and knocked on the door.

"What's wrong Buffy?" Bruce asked as he opened his bedroom door.

"My memories or dreams," Buffy said. "There of the future."

Bruce shook his head. "Buffy, that's not possible."

"In my latest dream I looked at a calendar and saw the year," Buffy said, trying to convince Bruce that what she was seeing in her dreams was real. "It was 1998. I was 17. My mom's name is Joyce by the way."

Bruce looked at Buffy with concern and then nodded. It wouldn't hurt to look even if just to prove to Buffy that what she was dreaming was just that dreams. "Come on we will research this down in the Batcave."

Buffy nodded and followed Bruce. A few moments later they sat at the computer in the Batcave as Bruce inputted the information they have. A hit came up almost immediately: _Joyce Summers. Husband Hank Summers. Married March 1980. Daughter … Buffy Anne Summers … born January 19, 1981._ "Looks like we got a hit on your family, and their still alive. Wonder why they never reported you missing." A moment later they had their answer, "It appears this may not be your family after all. According to public records, that Buffy is attending school in Los Angeles."

Buffy nodded as she thought back over what she remembered from the dream. "It sounds right though. You don't think I might be dreaming about her do you?"

Bruce shrugged. "I don't know. There are quite a few things that are still a mystery regarding you."

* * *

**Chapter 5: Year Ten**

**_January 20_****_th_****_, 1996_**

Alfred entered the batcave to find Bruce sitting at the computer as he looked over Bruce's shoulder at the screen he frowned at what he saw. "Do you not trust Miss Buffy's judgment, Master Bruce?"

Bruce didn't look up from the screen on which displayed the image of Thomas Armstrong with his family, whom Buffy was going on a date with that evening. "Of course I trust Buffy's judgment," he said.

"Then why are you checking up on her date and his family?" Alfred asked, knowing full well that if Buffy found out she would be majorly pissed at her father.

Bruce sighed. "I don't know the boy enough to trust him. Besides, Buffy is my little girl. It is my job to watch out for her and protect her."

"I thought I would find you two down here."

Bruce and Alfred turned and found Buffy walking toward them.

"How do I …" Buffy said as she started to ask them their opinion on her choice of clothes for the night when she saw the computer. "Dad, what the hell are you doing? Checking up on Thomas? Don't you trust me?"

Bruce sighed. "Of course I trust you, Buffy. It's the people out there I don't trust. Batman's enemies aren't the only ones we have to worry about coming after you because you're my daughter. Remember when you were eight and those people that kidnapped you. We still don't know who they were or why they kidnapped you. It could have been for all we know to try and extort money from me for your safe return. I'm being cautious."

Buffy sighed. "I understand your worries, dad. And if you trust me, you should trust me enough to know that I would have saved you the work." She moved to the computer and inputted her password and login into the system and pulled up a file. "When he asked me out I checked out his family, for the same reasons you gave. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong have both been loyal employees of Wayne Enterprises for twenty years. They have had nine years to try and kidnap me. Don't you think they would have done it by now?"

**_May 20_****_th_****_, 1996_**

"I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Buffy stood in the school hallway, it was one of the few times she still attended Gotham Academy, for mandated classes such as science that she could not be easily taught in at home. She stared at Thomas with surprise and shock. Her eyes opened wide.

"You don't?" she asked, confused. "When did this happen? Where was I?"

"Lately you seem to be keeping secrets," Thomas said. "About your past."

Buffy sighed. "I'm not. I told you I have amnesia. I can't remember anything past when I was six."

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about a lot of things since then." Thomas said. "I'm really sorry." He turned and walked away.

Buffy stood there, alone in the hall, watching Thomas go. She felt very young and very alone. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes.

An hour later as Buffy walked into Wayne Manor the tears still dropped from her eyes.

"Miss Buffy," Alfred said. "How was …" He then noted the tears. "What's wrong?"

"T-thomas," Buffy stuttered and then she buried her head into Alfred's chest.

Alfred held the crying girl, unsure how to comfort her. He knew if it had to do with Thomas that only one thing likely had happened. That the boy had broken up with Buffy. He looked up and noted Bruce's eyes on them. Both of them had little experience with girls. And when things like this happened they both felt lost when it came to trying to comfort Buffy.

Bruce turned and walked into his study, calling the only woman he knew that could be of help in this situation. His old partner and the commissioner's daughter, Barbara Gordon. "Barbara, its Bruce. I need your help."

"Anything, Bruce. What do you need?" Barbara asked.

"It's Buffy," Bruce said. When he had adopted Buffy he had told both Dick Grayson and Barbara about her. "I think she could use a woman's …"

"Say no more," Barbara said. "I'll be right there."

Barbara had come and found out what had happened from Buffy and took the girl out for ice cream. When they had returned both Bruce and Alfred saw a marked difference in Buffy. While admittedly not back to her old self, she was happier they could tell. Bruce had been right that only a woman could help Buffy through her first break-up.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Year Eleven**

**_January 20_****_th_****_, 1997_**

"Buffy are you sure you're ready?" Bruce asked as he looked at his daughter.

Buffy smiled. "More than ready, dad."

Bruce sighed as he handed Buffy the keys and she put them into the ignition. He had dreaded this day for as long as he could remember. Teaching Buffy to drive was going to be a headache.

While Buffy did not get them killed, she came close a couple times to having an accident. But that was because Bruce kept yelling at her to watch out for this or that, and distracting her as a result. By the time they got home. Bruce was shaken. As he walked past Alfred he handed the man the keys. "Next time you take her out."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 7: Year Fifteen**

**_March 31st, 2001_**

Bruce had gone to Washington to deliver a lecture on the economic affairs at a business convention, and had left Buffy in Gotham so as not to have to pull her away from her schooling. And as an added result she had been left to tackle her first solo case, that of Tomcat, a jewel thief.

"As I've instructed you, Buffy, a prowling cat tends to follow a proscribed route," Bruce had reminded her. "So all we have to do, in order to figure out where our Tomcat will prowl next, is to counter-triangulate the area of his previous robberies, feed in the fixed coordinates of his probably strike area, and we'll have it narrowed to a one-block target."

Buffy had been happy that Bruce trusted her enough to finally work a case solo.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Robin hugged the shadows along Forest Avenue, using one of Batman's inventions to scan the buildings for possible Tomcat activity. She spotted Tomcat, clawing his way up a vine toward the roof of a mansion.

"Gotcha," she muttered as she headed for the mansion's black iron fence. Using the increased strength she always seemed to have in reserve she wan up and over the fence with ease. She moved over the grass without a sound. The moment she was at the side of the mansion she scrambled up to the roof.

She spotted Tomcat, as she stepped onto the room next to a skylight, trying to jimmy the lock with a crowbar. Robin padded across the roof, smiling, this would be easier than she thought.

She was wrong.

When Robin was two feet away from Tomcat he whipped up his head, let out a venomous cat hiss, and lunged at her with the heavy crowbar. He slammed into Robin across her chest, and she went crashing, head first through the glass skylight and fell to the ground below seconds before the darkness claimed her.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

When consciousness returned to Robin she saw a delicate white face of a young woman about her age floating above her.

"Hello," the girl said softly. "Does your body flesh hurt?"

"My … body flesh?" Robin asked as things came into focus around her. She realized she was in a girl's bedroom, when she saw all the pink frilly things. She herself had never been too girly, that came with being raised by a single parent. And as a result she had come to like some of the same things Bruce and Alfred did. Still even she did like some girly things. The girl in front of her was dressed in a pink ball gown.

"Ow," Robin groaned as she tried to sit up and clutched her side in pain. "It does hurt."

It was then Robin realized she wasn't wearing her costume, but instead was wearing a white silk nightgown, likely the girls. She was sure Batman would admonish her for the girl seeing her without her costume and mask.

"Who are you?" Robin asked the girl.

"Sue Ellen," the girl said softly.

"Sue Ellen who?"

The girl flushed. "I don't have a last name. Sometimes I don't even feel like a real person. I mean, real people have last names—and Father has never told me what mine is."

"It would be the same as his," Robin said wondering if this girl was like her, an amnesiac.

"But I don't know that either. I just call him Father." Sue Ellen blinked at Robin. "What's your name?"

"For now you can call me Robin," Robin said remembering Batman's order never to reveal her true identity when out as Robin. "My real name is one that is supposed to be secret so that no one can get at me through my family."

Sue Ellen's eyes were wide. "Are you with the FBI?"

"No," Robin said. "But I do fight crime."

"Is that why you were wearing a mask?" Sue Ellen asked.

Robin adjusted the pillow, sitting up straight. "Yes. It's to protect the ones I love for my enemies could use them to get at me if they knew who I was."

"That makes sense," Sue Ellen said.

Robin wished she had worn a watch. She was sure Alfred was worried about her. "How long have I been here?"

"About ten hours. But can't leave. Nobody ever leaves this house but Father. And he's away now. Far, far away."

"I have to go," Robin said. "I have people waiting for me to return. If you would be kind to get me the clothes I had on when you found me."

Sue Ellen shook her head. "I want you to stay here with me. You're the first flesh person I've ever known, except for Father."

"Look Sue Ellen," Robin said, sliding her legs over the edge of the bed. "I really appreciate what you've done for me—fixing up my rib and all—but I have to leave immediately." She stood up. "Even if I have to walk out of here in a silk nightown."

"Gork will stop you," Sue Ellen declared. "I told him you should stay." And she snapped her fingers.

If Robin had to guess the man that walked through the door was seven foot tall. If he was human that is, he had a gray face and his eyes held no sign of a pupil. He also wore a seamless gray uniform. Based on what she could see of the man she knew he was strong. The question was could she take him. Once healed, maybe, after all she had bested Batman many a time in hand to hand combat and he was taller than she as well. Not as tall as Gork though.

"I'll have to render your friend here unconscious," Robin told the girl, "if he gets in my way. Tell him to back off."

"Gork is my friend. He does what I ask. He won't allow you to leave."

Robin was in no mood to argue the point. She just hoped she was healed enough as she jumped to her feet and aimed a roundhouse kick at Gork. Hitting him was like slamming into a brick wall. She quickly realized in her weakened state due to her injuries she did not have the strength needed to take him down.

Then Gork put his hand on Robin.

"Don't hurt her, Gork," said Sue Ellen. "Just put her back in bed."

The big lug did that. And he tucked Robin in like a three-year old.

"You can go now," Sue Ellen told him.

He shambled out of the room.

"He's not human," Robin stated as the word demon popped into her head. Why that particular word she had no idea. She was sure it had to do with the dreams she always had of where she had always been older.

"No," Sue Ellen said, "No one in this house is human, except for me. And Father—when he's home."

"What is Gork?"

"Mostly, he's mode of metal. When I was very young Father got interested in science of robotics. He's quite brilliant, and has many interests. He began to experiment with metal people. Robots. That's what Gork is—and he's identical to a dozen others that Father constructed to take care of me. But Gork is the only one I really like." She move closer to Robin and leaned over the bed. "May I touch your face?"

Robin blinked. That was an unusual question. Especially when she was sure Sue Ellen likely had done so when she was unconscious. "Sure."

Sue Ellen reached out with tentative fingers to explore the planes of Robin's face.

"It's warm—just like mine. The robots have cold faces, like wet fish." She smiled. "I'm a flesh person, too. Just like you are."

"I need to talk to a friend," Robin told the girl. "Could I use your phone?"

"We don't have any phones here. Father says they'd just distract me—that I'd use them to try to call other flesh people." She giggled. "But that's silly because I don't know anyone but you and you're right here. I don't have to call you."

Robin looked at Sue Ellen intently. "Is it true that I'm the first person you've ever met?"

"I said so, and I never lie."

"Where did you go to school?"

"Here. In this house. The robots taught me."

Robin knew that was a possibility. After her kidnapping when she was eight, she knew it was possible for someone to be taught at home, for she herself had been homeschooled. Of course there had been subjects she had still had to take in a school setting, such as her science classes. If these robots had taught Sue Ellen, that also meant likely that the girl had never been outside for anything but a handful of classes. Still that didn't make sense either because Sue Ellen had said Robin was the first human she had ever met." So you've never been outside?"

"No," Sue Ellen said. "I've just been here, in Father's house. For my whole life."

Robin was shocked. Even she had been allowed out before and after the kidnapping. She had never been a prisoner in her own home. "Are you saying your father has kept you prisoner?"

"Prisoner?" Sue Ellen frowned at the word. "No … I'm not a prisoner … I'm a Daddy's girl. This where he wants me to be—where he brought me as a tiny baby after Mother and Father quit living together."

Robin sighed. She had never had a mother, well not one she could remember anyways. It had always just been her, Batman and Alfred. Though Barbara Gordon could have been considered a mother of sorts. She had always come by when Robin had needed a woman to talk to. "Do you know what happened to your mother?"

"I don't know. I never saw her again. Anyhow, after she left, Father told me I was _too precious_ to have the world _pollute_ me. He said he'd keep me here, always, safe from the _harshness_ of the world, that he didn't want me _tarnished_. Father uses words like that all the time. He's a lot smarter than me."

"So you never played with other children?" Robin asked.

"No, not real children anyways. Father had robot children made for me to play with. But I never had real children to play with—just the robots. She brightened. "I've even learned to make robots myself now. I'm very good at it, too."

"Who is your father?" Robin asked angry at the man who had kept his daughter locked up.

"I told you I don't know his name," Sue Ellen said. "He's just … Father."

Robin walked over to a dresser. "You must have a picture of him … a photo. I want to see his face."

"He doesn't like pictures. There aren't any."

"What does he do for a living? How does he earn the money for all this?"

"He works in the circus. As a clown. I guess he always has. That's where he is right now, with a circus, way off in Washington. You know, the D.C. place."

Robin turned and looked at the girl her eyes widening. It couldn't be. Could it? One of Batman's enemies was a clown. Could this be the Joker's daughter? It would make sense why she was kept hidden away, safe. It was the same reason Robin herself always wore a mask when as Robin. So no one could trace the fact that she was Bruce Wayne's daughter. For the same reason that Batman wore a cowl, so that no one could trace Batman back to Bruce Wayne and in effect target someone he loved to get at him.

Robin had to get a message to her father immediately. She feared for his safety. "When you found me," she said urgently. "After I'd fallen through the skylight … I was wearing a wrist comm."

Sue Ellen looked confused.

"Like a watch," Robin said. "Where is it?"

"The robots took it away with your clothing."

"I need it, Sue Ellen! Badly."

"All right, I'll have Gork fetch it."

And she did. The big gray robot handed it to Robin, then shambled out again.

Robin hit a button on the side of the wrist comm. "Alfred."

_"Ms. Buffy, where are you?"_

"Safe for the moment. I need to know, dad …"

_"There was an attempt on the President's life by a killer clown. Batman managed to wrest a dart-weapon from him. In the subsequent melee, the clown escaped."_

"Was it the Joker?" Robin asked.

"Batman didn't say. Maybe you can tell? I'm sending you an image that came from the news. That's how I knew about the attempt. Your father has yet to call in. Probably tracking the killer now."

Robin hit another button and a picture appeared on the wrist comm. The problem was the clown was not facing them. And she could not tell if it was the Joker or not. "I will get back to you, Alfred. I'm safe for the moment."

_"Alright. But if I don't hear from you every hour, I'm activating your homing beacon and coming for you."_

"Understood," Robin said. "Robin, out." She switched off the wrist comm.

"That clown," Sue Ellen said having looked over Robin's shoulder at the wrist comm as the image had been displayed. "It only showed him from the back—but I'm sure it's Father."

"They your Father attempted to assassinate the President of the United States."

"I'm sorry," murmured Sue Ellen softly, head down. "That's very wrong, isn't it?"

"Very," Robin said.

"I wonder why he'd do a thing like that," the girl said. "But then … he's not a very nice man. I have tried to love him, but I just can't. Gork has been much kinder to me than Father."

Robin was sure her theory on Sue Ellen's father was true. But she needed Sue Ellen to verify it. "Describe him to me," she asked. "What does your father look like?"

"If you mean his features, I'm not sure. I mean, not really. He's always in his clown makeup. I've never seen him without it."

Robin nodded. "And what about his hair? What color is it?"

"It's green," she said. "An ugly green color … and he always wears red on his lips."

Robin was right. Sue Ellen's father was the Joker.

"Surprise!"

Robin pivoted to face the Clown Prince of Crime himself. "Joker!" she glared at him.

Sue Ellen drew back, as if from a snake.

"Ah … it's Buffy Wayne" he said slowly. "Both you and your father are known friends of Batman and Robin."

"And proud of it," Robin said.

"Well, it seems your friend foiled me again," said the Joker. "I intend to make him pay for what he did to me in Washington!"

"You're big at making empty threats, Joker," Robin told him. "But when the chips are down you always lose. Batman has beaten you time and again. And now that he has a new Robin you can expect that trend to continue with Robin's help. And one of these days they'll put you permanently in Arkham where you belong."

"Never! My brain far surpasses the range of normal people."

"At least we both agree on that," Buffy told him. "You're anything but normal."

Sue Ellen raised her chin in defiance. "Father, you are being very unkind. This is my first flesh friend and I don't like the mean way you've been talking to her. I think you should apologize."

"Apologize!" The Joker's laugh was bitter. "I'll apologize to no friend of Batman's. That bat-eared fool has been a plague in my life—continually thwarting my plans."

"If you acted as wickedly in the past as you acted in Washington," declared Sue Ellen. "Then your plans should have been thwarted."

The clown glared at Sue Ellen. "What do you know of good and evil … of profit and gain … of besting authority … of the sheer power and joy in being a master of crime?"

"I know it's nothing to be proud of," she snapped. "From what I've learned her today. I would say you belong in jail."

"If Batman were here you'd see how he'd deal with your father," Robin told Sue Ellen. "He'd put him out of action fast enough!"

"Oh, he'll be here," smiled the Joker. "I will see to that! I'll lead him to this very house … and there will be a present waiting for him. A present from the Joker to the Batman." Robin gulped, she was sure she knew what he was talking about. What her father had always feared would happen. But it wasn't Buffy Wayne being used as a pawn against Bruce Wayne or Robin against Batman. But Buffy Wayne being used as a pawn against Batman. "I don't know what twist of fate brought you to this house," he said, "but I shall make good use of you. When Batman arrives—and I will summon him personally—he shall find his society friend Buffy Wayne, waiting for him …" A fiendish cackle. "… with a cut throat!"

And he held up a long blade knife.

"And you, dear daughter," he said, turning to Sue Ellen, "shall slice her throat neatly from ear to ear and we shall leave her for her bat-friend to find." His eyes glowed hotly. "It will be simply delicious—watching Batman's shock when he encouters Wayne's corpse!"

"How terribly horrible!" exclaimed Sue Ellen. "You're a monster! You can never make me do such a …"

Her voice faltered. The Joker was standing above her, staring into her eyes. The tone of his voice soft and compelling: "You shall obey your father in all things … You will do exactly as I command … You are Daddy's girl … Daddy's girl … Daddy's girl …"

"I … am … Daddy's … girl," Sue Ellen murmured in a drugged voice.

Robin was sure that the command Daddy's girl was a hypnotic suggestion that brought Sue Ellen under the Joker's control. She jump, driving her right fist into the Joker's grinning face—but before she could throw another she was yanked backward. Two gray-skinned robots held her arms in a literal grip of steel. She was helpless.

"Don't try to fight them," said the clown. "They are more powerful than any human."

Inwardly Robin smirked. So was she. The problem stemmed again from her wounds. She was sure if she had her full strength she could take on the robots. But not while her body was still trying to heal the wounds she already had.

The Joker produced a small, jell capsule from his coat. "When she used the knife on you," he said. "You'll never feel a thing."

And he snapped the capsule in two under Robin's nose. A wave of sleeping gas spun her into darkness.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Bruce had returned from Gotham enraged at the Joker for his latest stunt in Washington.

"Master Bruce," Alfred said as he handed Bruce a tracking device. "Twelve hours ago, Ms. Buffy went missing while checking out the area Tomcat was suspected to target. Two hours ago she checked in. She said she was alright. But she asked about you."

"I assume you told her about the Joker?" Bruce asked.

"Of course at that time I had not heard from you and did not know it was the Joker," Alfred said. "But I did fill her in. She reiterated that she was fine. But I insisted she check in every hour. She has missed two now."

Bruce looked down at the tracker and nodded as he proceeded towards the cave and changed into his Batman costume. He then proceeded to head for the tracker's location. He was glad that Buffy had consented to being chipped. Especially after the kidnapping when she was eight.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Batman spotted the Joker's Clowncopter. He looked at the tracker and noted that the Joker's Clowncopter was heading for the mansion where Buffy's signal was coming from. He watched as the Joker brought his machine down on the roof of the mansion. If he had any doubts before that the Joker was mixed in with Robin's disappearance. Those doubts were gone now.

Batman using his grappler gun swung up to the roof and followed Joker through an open roof door.

The house was silent and lightless. He knew the Joker was here somewhere as he padded softly along a dimly lit hallway toward an open door just ahead. This was the main ballroom, immense and ornate.

Batman gasped as he looked through the door. There spread-eagled on a table, exactly where the tracker said she would be, was Robin lying on a table, her throat cut from ear to ear. Batman fell back in shock, his daughter dead.

A searing light stabbed out from the darkness and he heard the Joker laughing, triumphant.

"She is dead, Batman. Your meddlesome little friend, Buffy Wayne, is no more."

"Damn you, Joker, I'll tear you apart for this!" In a red rage, fists double, Batman swung around, raking the darkness for a glimpse of him.

"No use looking around for me, Batman. I'm in my second-floor study, enjoying this splendid show on my monitor screen."

Batman looked up. A shielded scanner rotated with his movements, providing the Joker with the image of Batman's agony. Then the tall entrance door to the ballroom banged shut like an exploding cannon.

"There's no way out for you," the Joker informed him. "The door is steel-ribbed and the walls are rock solid."

"What's your game, Joker?"

"Simple. I intend to leave you with your dead friend. No food. No water. Just you and a slowly-rotting corpse. I shall savor your death, Batman. Indeed, I shall."

Again came the Joker's laughter from the wall speakers.

Batman sprinted for the door, throwing his full weight against it, but it held fast. The Joker was right, he was trapped. He glanced at Robin and wondered if she had still been alive whether or not she could have done it.

Batman slumped against the door, the full horror of Robin's death assaulting me. Not since Jason Todd's death had he felt the crushing weight of it. This time it was more personal than it had been with Jason, for this time it was his daughter. Tears ran down his cheeks behind the cowl, and he slammed the wall in pained frustration.

Then, just beyond the viewing range of the scan unit, from the deep corner shadow, Batman saw a small white hand beckoning him.

Not wanting to alert Joker, he groaned aloud, turned in a hopeless circle, then staggered to the corner to beat both fists against the wall.

A young woman, about Robin's age, was crouched there. She looked up at Batman, her words tumbled out in a desperate whisper.

"Your daughter is alive," she said.

Batman glanced back at Robin wondering if she had told this girl whom she was.

"She did not tell me," the girl whispered. "It was several things that led me to come to the truth that she was not only your partner but your daughter, Mr. Wayne."

Batman looked back at the girl and nodded.

"The figure on the table is a robot—to fool Father. He thought I was hypnotized, but I wasn't. I just pretended. Gork helped me. He's a robot, too. We modeled the machine girl after Buffy. I made the face myself."

Relief that Robin was still alive flooded through Batman as he leaned close to the girl. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sue Ellen, the daughter of the person you call the Joker. He tried to force me to kill Buffy, but I could never do that. She's more than just my friend. I love her. I've never loved anyone so I don't know how to interpret if it's romantic or platonic."

"We can determine that later," Batman said. "Where have you hidden her?"

"Below … in the basement. She's still unconscious from Father's sleeping gas. But the two of you can get away through a secret passage leading to the street."

"But how do I get out of this room?"

"Behind you … there's a trapdoor in the floor. It was bolted shut from below but I got it open."

"Where are you, Batman?" The Joker's taunting voice boomed from the speakers. "Come, come, this will never do. Step back into the light or I shall be forced to send down some of my metallic friends to drag you out of that corner. And they won't be gentle about it. Now, do as I say!"

Sue Ellen gestured to Batman; her voice was urgent: "Quickly! He'll send in his robots if we don't hurry."

And she tugged open the trapdoor, revealing a square of pale yellow light from the basement below them. A twist of sagging wooden stairs led downward.

"This way," whispered Sue Ellen. "Follow me."

Batman slipped through the trapdoor, closing it behind him, and followed her rapidly down the stairs.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Robin woke up, blinking, acrid powder fumes in her nostrils. Batman was leaning over her. "Dad!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah … a little dizzy is all." Robin gripped his arm. "How did you get here, dead? And where's Sue Ellen?"

Sue Ellen stepped forward, taking Robins hand. Her fingers felt warm and strong. "Here I am." She smiled.

"I don't understand. I thought the Joker had—"

"Never mind what you thought," said Batman. "By now the Joker knows that his daughter tricked him. He'll be sending down his killer robots." He reached out a gloved hand. "On your feet. We need to get out of her."

Robin stood up just as the basement door crashed open.

Sue Ellen screamed: "They're here!"

A half-dozen, gray-faced robots were pouring through the door, straight at them.

"Robin?" Batman asked as Robin shook her head. "Maybe this then will slow them down." He tossed a pellet at the advancing tinmen. They staggered back as the pellet exploded.

"This way!" cried Sue Ellen, taking the lead down a narrow rock-walled passageway.

At the far end of the tunnel was a faint glow.

"That's the street light from the corner of Forest and Troost," Sue Ellen informed them. "You're almost out."

But almost wasn't good enough, the robots were gaining on them and fast.

"Dad," Robin pleaded.

Batman spun around and flipped a vial. Whoom! The whole roof caved in behind them, trapping the robots in rock and mud.

Then they were at the tunnel exit. Sue Ellen stepped back. "Go quickly," she said.

Robin hesitated. "But we're taking you with us."

"Oh, no you're not!" rasped the Joker as he leapt at them, a gleaming .357 magnum in his hand.

Batman didn't say a word. He ducked under the Joker's gun arm to deliver a smashing blow to the clown's pointed chin.

The Joker fell back, dropping the gun. Then he pressed a button on his coat—and the Clowncopter dropped to the ground between him and them like a giant cat. Before they could stop him the Joker was onboard the Clowncopter was in the air.

Robin watched the Joker fly away knowing they couldn't catch him, not right then anyways. She turned toward Sue Ellen who was crouching inside the tunnel, peering out at them from the darkness.

"Come on, Sue Ellen," Robin said. "Time to go."

Sue Ellen shook her head. "I can't."

Robin moved quickly to Sue Ellen. "But why not? You … you've said that you love me."

"I do … I truly do," she declared. "But—"

"More as a sister," Batman offered as Sue Ellen nodded.

"I never had a sister," Robin said. "I would love it if you could be mine."

"Really?" she gasped in delight.

"Really," Robin said. "I want you to come and live with us and be my sister."

Tears welled in her eyes. "Oh, that sounds … so wonderful. But it can't ever happen. Because …"

"Because why?"

Sue Ellen stepped forward into the light from the street lamp. "Because I'm dying." She was pale and her hands trembled as blood ran from the corner of her mouth. "Father made certain I'd never be able to go out into the world," she told them. "He gave me … injections. So long as I stayed indoors, in the house, I was all right. But … those injections changed the chemistry of my body. I can't survive … on the outside. My coming out … set off a kind of … chain-reaction inside my body and nothing can save me now. Not even being your sister."

"But there must be an antidote," Robin gasped.

"No … too late …" She was moaning out the words. "Father was brilliant. He wanted to make that I would always be … Daddy's girl."

She reached out, slowly, to clasp Robin's hand. Her fingers were already turning cold. "Goodbye, Buffy Wayne," she whispered. "Goodbye, my sister!"

And she was gone.

Batman watched for a moment and then he picked up the girl's body and carried her to the Batmobile as Robin followed. He could hear his daughter sobbing behind him. "Buffy, I … I'm sorry."

**_Apr. 1, 2001_**

Buffy stood with Bruce and Alfred in front of the Wayne family cemetery out on top of a hill behind Wayne Manor. There they stood before a new tombstone, on which had been engraved:

**_Sue Ellen Wayne_**

**_Beloved Sister_**

"Goodbye, Sue Ellen," Buffy said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0

That night Buffy tossed and turned as she slept.

_Willow, Giles, Tara, Xander picked themselves off the floor as they assessed the damage._

_"Dawn!" Buffy said as she grabbed Dawn in a tight hug._

_"That's an incredibly dangerous spell for an adept at your level," Giles said looking toward Willow._

_Willow wiped blood from her nose as she nodded in agreement. "Yep. Won't be trying that one again soon."_

_Buffy pulled back from Dawn, checking her sister over to make sure she's not hurt. "Are you all right?! Did she hurt you?"_

_Dawn frowned as she remembered what Buffy and her mother had said hours before. "Why do you care?"_

_Buffy smiled. "Because I love you. You're my sister."_

_Dawn shook her head. "No, I'm not."_

_"Yes, you are. Look," Buffy said as she took Dawn's hand, which had a cut across the palm. "Blood. Summers' blood." She took her own hand, smeared blood on it from her shoulder and held it up. "Just like mine." She pressed her hand into Dawn's mixing their blood together. "It doesn't matter how you got here or where you came from. You are my sister. There's no way you could annoy me as much if you weren't."_

_All of Dawn's anger and defenses came crashing down as she hugged Buffy tightly. "I was so scared."_

_Buffy smiled. "Me too."_

_"Wait! Ben! He…" Dawn said as she tried to remember something, but is having difficulty. The memory seems just to be out of her reach. "He was here. He was trying to help me, but then he… I think he might have left before Glory came. I—I can't remember."_

_"It's okay," Buffy said as she led Dawn toward the door. "We'll thank him the next time we see him. We'd better get back. Mom's freaking out."_

_Dawn's expression clouded at hearing that. "Is she mad? About the fire?"_

_"I think you sort of have a get out of jail free card, on account of big love and trauma," Buffy said._

_Dawn smiled. "Really? Okay… Good," she said. "Think she'd raise my allowance?"_

_"Don't push it."_

Buffy woke up and smiled as memories poured into her mind. She finally remembered everything of her life from the first time since she was six years old to the time she was twenty when she jumped off the tower so that Dawn wouldn't have to. With the grief over Sue Ellen temporarily forgotten, she got out of bed and rushed to Bruce's room and knocked on his door.

"What is it Buffy?" Bruce asked as he opened his bedroom door.

Buffy smiled. "My memory is back, I remember everything. My dreams they were actual memories. A month from now I will step into a portal intending to close it, so that my sister, Dawn, won't have to. You see the portal was opened using her blood. And the portal would only close when the blood stopped flowing, when Dawn was dead. These monks made Dawn out of me. She and I share the same blood, same DNA, were essentially the same person. So I jumped into the portal so she wouldn't have to. I sacrificed myself for her, for my sister. I guess by jumping into the portal it sent me back in time. Erased my memories. The girl we found in California that's me. That's me before I jumped in the portal."

Bruce sighed. "Buffy we've been over this, before..."

"Dad I'm right," Buffy said. "And I know it. I'm not crazy. My dreams are actual memories, I remember everything now. Let me prove it to you, please?"

"You're sure about this?" Bruce asked. In a way he hoped Buffy was right. Because it would mean she had truly found her birth family. But on the other side of the coin he was afraid that she was possibly delusional and that meant he would have to possibly have her see a psychiatrist.

Buffy nodded. "Yes!"

"Alright what can we do?" Bruce asked.

**May 4, 2001**

Buffy watched as the world passed her by, down below the Wayne family jet. She was sure that Sue Ellen had been the reason she had dreamed about Dawn the night after Sue Ellen had died, and the reason she now remembered everything. She wondered if the Powers That Be had thrust Sue Ellen into her life for that reason. She had lost Sue Ellen to the Joker's schemes. She was not going to lose Dawn to Glory's.

**May 5, 2001**

Batman watched as _Buffy_ ran up the tower. It was then he found out that Buffy had not been delusional. He was sure that Buffy had been sent back in time so that she could be here for this moment. So that her sister would not be left orphaned like he had been. He was sure that had been why she had been sent to him in the first place. To prepare her for her return.

Up on the tower _Buffy_ brought Dawn close as she spoke into her sister's ear. "Dawn listen to me. Listen. I love you. I'll always love you. But this is the work I have to do. Tell Giles I... I figured it out. And I'm okay. Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now - you have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn. The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."

_Buffy_ wiped a tear away from Dawn's face as she took a moment to memorize it. She then kissed Dawn's cheek, before turning and ran toward the end of the platform.

Robin climbed to the top of the tower just as _Buffy_ dove off the end and fell toward the ball of energy that was the portal. She could tell that Dawn was crying for the sister that was making a sacrifice for her and sighed. She wished she hadn't had to do it. That she could have changed events. But she knew that if she had done that she would have changed her own history. And changing her own history would have caused her not to be here to help out.

Just as _Buffy_ disappeared in a flash of white, Dawn turned to find Robin standing behind her smiling.

"Hello, Dawn," Robin said, in the voice she had adopted since becoming Robin.

"Who are you?" Dawn asked, shocked to find anyone up there with her.

Robin removed her mask and smiled. "Going to give your sister a hug?"

"Buffy!" Dawn said as she ran over to Robin and hugged her fiercely. Then she pulled away from Buffy as a look of confusion crossed her face. "But how? You just jumped!"

Robin smiled. "It's a long story. One I will tell you at home."

"Robin?" Batman said as he stepped on to the tower behind Buffy and Dawn.

Robin turn and looked at Batman. She had told him all about her life on the trip from Gotham to Sunnydale, and about Dawn in particular. "Batman, I would like you to meet my sister, Dawn."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Dawn," Batman said. "I have heard a great many things from your sister about you."

Robin smiled at Dawn and placed her mask back on. "Don't tell anyone, Dawnie. I want to reveal who I am to everyone at the same time."

Dawn smiled, happy to have Buffy there. "I won't. It's just so nice to have you here."

**May 6, 2001**

Batman and Robin entered the Summers' home the next day. They had spent the night debating what to tell Buffy's friends and sister, before finally deciding to tell them the truth. Buffy had told Bruce that he could trust them with his secret. He had finally relented since he simply wanted to see his daughter happy.

Giles stepped up next to the two heroes from Gotham and shook Batman's hand. "I'm Rupert Giles I just wanted to say thank you for your help last night with Glory. Your timing was beneficial."

"You can thank Robin for our timing. It was she who knew to come," Batman said.

Giles nodded as he looked toward Robin. "If I may ask how you knew?"

Robin smiled. "That's easy … Giles."

Giles frowned as he looked at Robin with confusion at the familiarity at which she had said his name. Then it dawned on him that he recognized her voice. A voice he had been sure he would never hear again. "Buffy?"

Robin nodded and took off her mask. "Yeah Giles. It's me."

Giles pulled Buffy into a hug and smiled. "But how?" Willow asked.

Buffy smiled. "It's a long story. You basically know the beginning and the end for they are one in the same. What you don't know is the middle of the story. When I jumped I was transported not to another dimension, but through time. I exited the portal with no memory other than my name, age and month of birth. I was also 6 years old again. I ran into a man coming out of a local theater. He raised me, trained me." At this Batman removed his cowl. "He adopted me; I became Buffy Wayne, daughter of billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne."

Giles eyes went wide with recognition. "Mr. Wayne?" he asked as Bruce nodded. "You're Batman?" Bruce nodded again.

Dawn smiled. "So I guess that kind of makes you my dad, too?"

"If Buffy consents, yes," Bruce said. "She is still your legal guardian." He looked at the group. "I revealed my identity because Buffy said I could trust all of you. But you must not tell anyone."

"Believe me we know all about keeping secrets," Giles said as Willow, Tara and Xander all nodded in agreement. He then looked to Buffy. "So what happens now?"

Buffy smiled. "Dawn and I go home."

"Home?" Giles asked.

"We will be moving to Gotham," Buffy said. "I talked dad into using his contacts to get Faith released from prison. She will take over patrolling here. If you need me all you have to do is call. But I have a duty now to the people of Gotham."

"So you won't be the Slayer anymore?" Xander asked.

Buffy looked at one of her two best friends and smiled. "Oh I will still be the Slayer but I will also be Robin. I can do more good in Gotham than I can here."

Bruce shook his head. "You won't be Robin."

"What?" Buffy asked, wondering what her father meant.

Bruce smiled. "I came to a decision a couple years ago. I'm getting too old to continue as Batman. So I decided to start training not only a partner but a replacement. It is time to pass on the mantle of the Bat. Just as it is time for you to pass on the mantle of Robin. You will be the next Batman, or in this case Batwoman. And I believe you should train Dawn to be your Robin."

"What?" Dawn asked.

Buffy smiled as she looked at her sister. "You don't want to be?"

"It's not that I don't want to be," Dawn said. Buffy had always told her it was too dangerous for her to go on patrol with her. "But you've always been the one who said I couldn't patrol with you, that it was too dangerous."

Buffy nodded in understanding. Dawn was basing her thinking off the old Buffy that jumped off the tower the night before. The new Buffy was not that Buffy. "For me that was 14 years ago, Dawn. I've changed since then; growing up with a father who was also Batman, who had faith that I could be his Robin. I know you will make a good Robin, with training."

Dawn smiled. "I accept."

**_June 1, 2001_**

It had been almost a month since Buffy had been reunited with Dawn. In the weeks since, they had set up everything that would set Buffy Wayne up as the new owner of their house in Sunnydale and legal guardianship of Dawn Summers. It required hacking into several government databases to show Elizabeth Summers death, they had to the Buffy Summers name so as not to draw suspicion. They faked a Will giving everything to her twin sister till Dawn turned eighteen at which point the Summers home, and what remained of Joyce's estate would go straight to Dawn.

Then as part of Buffy Wayne's legal guardianship of Dawn, Dawn's legal name was changed to Dawn Summers-Wayne.

Dawn had finally arrived from Sunnydale the night before and had talked to Buffy about everything, or most everything that had happened in the sixteen years since Buffy found herself in the past. With the exception of last April. She had yet to tell Dawn about Sue Ellen. Someone she had come to think of as a sister.

Buffy led Dawn out of Wayne Manor and up the hill to the small cemetery that housed three graves. Buffy motioned towards Thomas and Martha Wayne. "They are Bruce's parents. That would technically make them your grandparents, now. But only through me, because of my adoption."

"And whose grave is that?" Dawn asked motioning toward Sue Ellen's grave.

"Sue Ellen," Buffy said as a tear fell from her eye. She had yet to grieve for the girl who had become a sister to her in the space of one day. Between her memories returning and then setting up everything so she continued to be Dawn's legal guardian. She had for the most part been too busy to grieve. But now that Dawn was here ...

"She was important to you?" Dawn asked.

"She was my sister," Buffy said.

"I thought that Mister Wayne only had adopted you," Dawn said. "That he had no other children."

"You are right," Buffy said. "She became my sister in other ways. Her life mirrored yours to a degree. I was trailing a cat burglar as Robin. When he attempted to break into her home. Her father was dad's nemesis, the Joker. He kept her locked up in that house, he had even used his knowledge to ensure she never left either. When I chased Tomcat onto the roof of her house, I fell through a skylight. I woke ten hours later. I must have been pretty badly beaten up from the fall to have slept that long. When I woke she was there. We slowly got to know each other, and when I learned she was the Joker's daughter I tried to get her out. As I said the Joker used his knowledge to ensure she stayed. He had done some scientific stuff and had given her a condition that made the outside world toxic to her. As Dad and I were fleeing the Joker, she followed us outside. I wanted to take her with me and make her my sister, but it was already too late. The damage had already been done. She died in my arms."

"If she is the Joker's daughter?" Dawn asked. "Why does she …"

"Because she is my sister in every way that matters," Buffy said as she looked at Dawn. "And I had dad do me one favor, he did some checking on the Joker's real name and found a birth certificate done by the birth mother. Naming of course the Joker as the father. It was simple enough to change her who her father was and what her last name was, that she hadn't even known, to Wayne."

As the tears came to Buffy's eyes, Dawn reached for her sister and held her. "Oh, Buffy," she said. And while she meant to comfort Buffy, her tears came as well for a person she would never know. Whom her sister had chosen to call family.

**_June 23, 2001_**

Dawn watched her sister with Bruce and sighed. It was almost like being back in Sunnydale when she was acting out to get Buffy's attention. Now she was fighting both Bruce and Alfred for her sister's attention. She knew based on Buffy's story that Bruce and Alfred were Buffy's family now, and by extension her own as well. She just …

"Dawn," Buffy said startling her sister out of her thoughts. "Is something wrong?" She had noticed that Dawn had been staring off into space. "Something you want to talk about?"

"I …" Dawn started as she looked at Bruce and Alfred, who stood beside Buffy.

Buffy followed her sister's gaze and nodded. "Dad, Alfred, can you two give us a minute, alone?"

Bruce and Alfred nodded as they left the room.

"Now, what's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"I know it was a long time ago for you," Dawn said. "But do you remember when mom passed away and I was …"

"Acting out?" Buffy asked as Dawn nodded. "I remember. I also remember it was to get my attention. That was a hard time for both of us. Is that what's going on here? Because I have another family, you're feeling left out?"

"A little bit," Dawn said. "You're my sister, Buffy. You're the only family I have. Maybe in time I will come to love them like you do. But …"

Buffy nodded and smiled. "I understand. You just met them last month and it will take time. But right now it's hard for you that someone else is taking my attention from you."

"Yeah," Dawn said.

"I'm sorry," Buffy said. "For then and for now. How about we go start your training. If you're going to be my Robin. You are going to need it."

Dawn smiled and followed Buffy out of the room and down the hall.

**_July, 14, 2001_**

"Wayne Manor," Alfred said. "Alfred speaking."

"Hey you must be B's new Jeeves. The name's, Faith. Is she in?"

"Ah Ms. Lehane," Alfred said. "She is indeed in. She is currently in the training room with Miss Dawn. I will get her for you, please hold." He placed the phone on hold and then made his way to the training room. "Ms. Buffy, Ms. Lehane is on the phone for you."

"Thank you, Alfred," Buffy said. "You can rest, Dawn, while I'm talking to Faith."

"Tell her hi for me," Dawn said.

"I will," Buffy said as she walked out of the training room and down the hall into her father's study. She picked up the phone taking it off hold. "Hello, Faith."

"Hey, B," Faith said. "I need a couple favors. First off your mom's basement is flooded. The plumber is saying all the pipes need to be replaced."

"Get it all done," Buffy said. "And have them send the bill to me or dad."

"Okay," Faith said. "Will do, B. The other thing. I was wondering the armor you and your dad use, could you see about getting me some?"

Buffy understood the reason for Faith's request. Being the Slayer was dangerous work with very little life expectancy. And with the armor, it could in effect increase Faith's life expectancy till the day she was ready to retire. "Sure I could do that. Send me your measurements and I will put an order in through Dad's suppliers."

"Thanks, B," Faith said. "And thanks again for trusting me to do this."

"You're welcome, Faith," Buffy said.

**Epilogue**

**May 10, 2005**

Batwoman and Robin stood on a rooftop overlooking Gotham. Over the 4 years since Dawn had agreed to become Buffy's Robin she had trained hard to make her sister proud. And now together they were keeping the streets of Gotham safe not only from the criminals that plagued Gotham but from demons and vampires as well. Together they were a force to be reckoned with.

And when it came time for Buffy to pass on the mantle of the Bat she knew who her first choice would be…

**_Dawn Marie Summers-Wayne_**

**_Her Sister_**


End file.
